Chapter 4: Are you going out? Take me with you!
“Um… Illya…”
“Evelia.”
“Hah… Let’s put the name aside for now. Are you planning to go out?”
Alman couldn’t resist the strict little maid, and he sighed deeply, tugging at his hair. There were simply too many names similar to “Evelia,” and he couldn’t sort them all out at once. He had to admit that the little maid’s name was just… too ordinary and difficult to pronounce.
“No, Evelia doesn’t plan to go out. Evelia is preparing for your first banquet here at the manor.”
“Actually, you don’t have to refer to yourself like that…”
“Evelia is just afraid that Mr. Alman will forget Evelia’s name.”
“No… Even so…”
“Then Evelia asks you, what is Evelia’s name?”
“Iluliyah?”
A snap sounded, and Evelia felt like a nerve inside her was about to snap.
“I’m really not good at remembering names… especially… I’m sorry, especially with names as common as yours.”
“Hah…”
In Evelia’s decades as an assassin, this was the first time she felt so helpless.
But everything was for the sake of completing the mission… Just endure it.
“Mr. Alman, do you remember your own name?”
She took a deep breath, suppressing some impulse inside her.
“Alman Cisteria.”
“And the current king’s name?”
“Pandalata Clayah.”
“What about the First Prince and the Second Prince?”
“Solok Clayah and Eric Clayah.”
“And the old butler whom you seem to value?”
“Lug Laz.”
“Then—what about me?”
“…”
At this question, Alman paused for a moment.
“I… Evelyn?”
“Not bad, you got two letters right, but the price is that you messed up the letter count?”
Evelia looked at Alman, whose face was awkward, and she was almost unable to suppress her killing intent.
How can someone be so torturous… How did he climb to the position of leader of the Knight Order? Does the First Prince like this kind of brainless? Could it be that the First Prince is gay? Did this guy get promoted just because he looks good? The rumor that he doesn’t like women can’t be because he’s the First Prince’s male pet, right?
—Evelia’s mind was coming up with such thoughts, which showed how unreasonable she found this guy, who seemed to only have a pretty face.
Even someone as emotionally distant as Evelia couldn’t help but feel irritated.
“Sorry, I’m not very good at remembering people I don’t interact with much… The few you mentioned are all people I see often in life and in documents, so I can remember their names. If you ask me about the names of my soldiers, I probably wouldn’t remember most of them either; everyone calls each other by various nicknames after all. You know, many names with four to five characters sound very similar.”
“I am your personal maid, so I will definitely be seeing you often, so please remember my name.”
“Is Pink Hair really not an option—”
“It is not, Mr. Alman.”
“…Alright.”
“By the way, are you planning to go out?”
“Mm?” Alman was taken aback. “How do you know?”
“Because you’ve been asking me if I’m going out, and you seem quite concerned. I was wondering if you wanted to take this opportunity to go out or have me bring something back for you. Based on your personality, I think it’s the former.”
“Hahaha, you really are keen.”
“If I weren’t keen, I wouldn’t be able to be your maid.”
“That’s true…” Alman smiled with his eyes narrowed. The last part of his voice became softer, quiet enough that Evelia, who was close by, couldn’t hear clearly. But she saw a flash of a certain emotion in Alman’s smiling eyes, a look she was all too familiar with as an assassin; he was “observing” her.
Not just a casual look, but an “observation” as if he wanted to see right through her.
“I can sit in this position because I understand the needs of my master very well. But if you don’t like me making such casual guesses, I can refrain from saying similar things.”
Evelia sensed a certain crisis but didn’t change her expression. She continued to look at Alman with the same emotionless demeanor, her tone as bland as before.
“How could I dislike that? Understanding people’s hearts makes everyday cooperation much easier. I absolutely hate debating such troublesome matters with others.”
The “observation” in Alman’s eyes was just a fleeting moment. He maintained his smiling face as if nothing had happened. Unlike those sinister squinty eyes, his smile resembled that of a big, happy dog, looking genuinely pleased but a bit silly.
Yet inexplicably, Evelia felt pressure.
“If you need an excuse to go out, I can accompany you to purchase the drinks needed for this banquet.”
“That’s wonderful!” He quickly went back inside to fetch his coat. “Shall we set off now? I don’t like being cooped up in the manor.”
Evelia nodded and silently followed Alman. Just as she was wondering why Alman, as the manor’s master, couldn’t go out whenever he wanted, the old butler named Lug that she learned about from Alman hurried out from the office upon hearing their voices.
“What are you going to do?!” He rushed out, his white whiskers bouncing anxiously.
“I’m going out to buy drinks with my maid,” Alman laughed carefreely.
“We have a dedicated person for purchasing drinks; you don’t need to go out yourself, do you?”
The old butler Lug glanced at Evelia behind him, frowning but couldn’t express what kind of expression it was.
“Drinks are the soul of a banquet; how could I not personally handle them?”
“If you go out yourself… you might end up bringing back some odd stuff again. Your reputation outside is already terrible; please be mindful of your image! You represent the Royal Knight Order!”
“Reputation can’t be eaten; it doesn’t matter, and my image hasn’t hindered my knights from marrying and having children, so don’t worry. With Evelia…” he said, stretching out the vowel sound as his gaze fell on Evelia.
“Evelia.” She nearly rolled her eyes but managed to hold it back.
“Right, and she’s accompanying me, so you can rest assured.”
“You really are… I know once you set your mind on something, even ten bulls couldn’t pull you back… Sigh, anyway, just make sure you keep a good eye on him, Evelia. Please don’t let him run around and bring back a bunch of odd things; we can’t afford to deal with reputation or finances, and we have so many knights to support…”
The old butler seemed to entrust Evelia with a heavy responsibility. Evelia nodded repeatedly, saying things like “You can rest assured.” Alman stood by, smiling as he waited for the old butler’s tearful instructions to finish before reclaiming Evelia for himself.
“Alright, alright, don’t make it sound like if I step out the door, it’ll be the end of the world. We’re off,”
Seeing the old butler’s incessant chatter, Alman didn’t intend to wait any longer. He patted Lug on the shoulder, urging him to let Evelia go, then turned on his heel and led her out of the manor, which they hadn’t been at for long, under the old butler’s worried gaze.
“Sigh…” The old butler sighed. After Evelia and Alman left, his expression became much more complicated than before. “You really like to cause trouble…”
